Rochester Institute of Technology RIT Scholar Works Theses 12-12-2013 The Power of Lyrical Protest: Examining the Rhetorical Function of Protest Songs in the 2000s Mary Elizabeth Quirk Cort [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.rit.edu/theses Recommended Citation Quirk Cort, Mary Elizabeth, "The Power of Lyrical Protest: Examining the Rhetorical Function of Protest Songs in the 2000s" (2013). Thesis. Rochester Institute of Technology. Accessed from This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by RIT Scholar Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses by an authorized administrator of RIT Scholar Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. RUNNING HEAD: THE POWER OF LYRICAL PROTEST 1 The Rochester Institute of Technology Department of Communication College of Liberal Arts The Power of Lyrical Protest: Examining the Rhetorical Function of Protest Songs in the 2000s by Mary Elizabeth Quirk Cort A Thesis submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Master of Science Degree in Communication & Media Technologies December 12, 2013 All Rights Reserved THE POWER OF LYRICAL PROTEST 2 The members of the Committee approve the thesis of Mary Elizabeth Quirk Cort presented on December 12, 2013. _________________________________________ Patrick Scanlon, Ph.D. Chairman and Professor of Communication Department of Communication _________________________________________ Kelly Norris Martin, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Communication Thesis Advisor _________________________________________ Babak Elahi, Ph.D. Associate Dean/College of Liberal Arts Associate Professor Department of English Thesis Advisor _________________________________________ Rudy Pugliese, Ph.D. Professor of Communication Director, Communication & Media Technologies Graduate Degree Program Department of Communication THE POWER OF LYRICAL PROTEST 3 DEDICATION For my parents, my daughters, Joelle and Catherine Cort, and my sister, Kathleen Quirk Grateful acknowledgment for her help with primary research Jody Sidlauskas, M.L.S. For the expertise of my thesis advisor Kelly Norris Martin, Ph.D. THE POWER OF LYRICAL PROTEST 4 Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................5 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................6 Literature Review.............................................................................................................................7 Musical Artists who Took a Stand in the 2000s ............................................................................17 Methodology ..................................................................................................................................23 Discussion ......................................................................................................................................35 Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................51 References ......................................................................................................................................52 Appendix: Song Lyrics ..................................................................................................................56 THE POWER OF LYRICAL PROTEST 5 THE POWER OF LYRICAL PROTEST: EXAMINING THE RHEOTRICAL FUNCTION OF PROTEST SONGS IN THE 2000S Name: Mary Elizabeth Quirk Cort Department: Communication College: Liberal Arts Degree: Master of Science in Communication & Media Technologies Term Degree Awarded: Spring Semester 2014 (2135) Abstract Until the late 1960s, serious scholarship involving the impact of popular music as political expression was lacking. Studies in rhetorical criticism tended to focus upon speeches, essays, and historical documents. Yet in the 1970s, protest songs were given more attention by scholars. However, this trend was not continued into the 2000s. By analyzing the ideological themes within the lyrics, this thesis examined the rhetorical function of protest songs performed during the 2000s. Functions identified include: historicizing a truth, using music and lyrics as a buffer to challenge a power structure, empowering the listener to overcome adversity, communicating a message to solidify members of a social movement, and encouraging societal change. Keywords: protest songs and rhetoric, protest songs and persuasion, protest songs of the 2000s, social activism and protest songs, rhetorical functions and protest songs, ideological criticism and protest songs THE POWER OF LYRICAL PROTEST 6 The Power of Lyrical Protest: Examining the Rhetorical Function of Protest Songs in the 2000s The rhetorical functions of protest songs are important to study because they enable us to understand and learn from opposing ideologies that are expressed “en masse.” Studies have shown that, by themselves, many individuals do not have a strong voice, but they become stronger when joining a group of like-minded individuals (Stewart, Smith, & Denton, 1984). Reed (2005) has indicated that there are several functions of culture in [social] movements. He suggests that music in mass rallies can move a person out of the individual self to feel the strength of the group, empower an individual to feel his own strength, harmonize or smooth differences among diverse constituencies; inform internally, meaning to express or reinforce movement values, ideas, and tactics; inform externally, meaning to express movement values, ideas, and tactics to potential recruits, opponents, and undecided bystanders; transform and set a new emotional tone such as defusing anger or fear to calm or resolve a conflict. Lastly, members of a movement can critique movement ideology by challenging dominant ideas, values, and tactics of those in power by evoking emotions and meanings within the audience (Reed, 2005, pp. 299-300). For this reason, taking a closer look at protest songs for their rhetorical merit is significant to document changes within a society and to uncover the use of finding creative solutions that address the problems within the culture. Foster (2006) stated that popular music must be recognized as a powerful form of public discourse…from the numbers of sold-out concerts that occur from small independent venues to massive football stadiums is enough to warrant musical performances as a necessary site for THE POWER OF LYRICAL PROTEST 7 rhetorical criticism and public address. In short, of the places to gather to hear public rhetoric, music performance is significant. (p. 48) Literature Review Much of the recent scholarship focusing on protest music with respect to its rhetorical value draws from several social disciplines. This review of the research available responds to the current body of rhetorical scholarship and may enlighten the reader to the “message of the music” and its impact on the audience. For the purpose of this study, a protest song is a song that identifies a social problem and/or calls for action in response to a social or political problem. According to Stewart, Smith, and Denton (2001) protest songs serve six major persuasive functions: 1. informing audiences about the past, present, and future of social problems, 2. establishing or defending the self- identity or self-worth of those associated with the cause, 3. establishing legitimacy of the movement, 4. prescribing solutions and/or making demands regarding the social problem, 5. promoting cohesion and camaraderie among those involved in the movement, and 6. urging specific actions such as picketing, voting or removal of troops. Music and Its Persuasive Function Scholars have discovered three persuasive components that distinguish music from other forms of communication. First, music is repetitive in nature. The persuasive elements of music are created through redundancy. Redundancy is the borrowing of a line from another well- known song (Booth, 1976). Second, music emphasizes the non-discursive because it operates on THE POWER OF LYRICAL PROTEST 8 a physiological mode which affects the human body: music literally touches our body intimately in a greater variety and succession of different ways than the spoken word, employing a broader range and a larger variety of different melodies, rhythms, chord progressions, and instrumentations than are possible with only the spoken word (Chesebro, 1985). Third, music is an experiential form of communication. As an artistic form, music involves a collection and pattern of personal experiences. Since music is connotative in nature, the listener can place his/her interpretation on the song. (Chesebro, 1985; King & Jensen, 1995). Stewart, Smith, and Denton (1984) revealed that the persuasive potential of music has attracted attention for centuries, particularly when social agitators have composed and performed protest songs…but it was not until the 1960s and 1970s that researchers began to study the persuasive nature and effects of protest music. For the first time in American history, protest music became popular and commercially lucrative. (p. 137) Perhaps it was due to the popularity of a protest song or a particular artist who emerged on top of the Billboard hits that attracted increased research interest in the late 60s, but protest songs have been part of the American culture since the Revolutionary